Book rounding and backing machine



Nov. 10, 1959 L. ROBBINS ETAL 2,

BOOK ROUNDING AND BACKING MACHINE Filed Sept. 15, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 1FIG.|

FIG.3

INVENTORS. L E O ROBBINS Nov. 10, 1959 1.. ROBBINS ETAL BOOK ROUNDINGAND BACKING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 TNR VOE

Filed Sept. 15, 1955 AT TORNE Y Nov. 10, 1959 L. ROBBINS ETA 2,911,659

BOOK ROUNDING AND BACKING MACHINE Filed Sept. 15, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 3FIG.7

INVENTORJ. LEO ROBBINS TACK BENDROR ATTORNEY Nov. 10, 1959 ROBBINS ETAL2,911,659

BOOK ROUNDING AND BACKING MACHINE Filed Sept. 15, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 4IN V EN TOR-5.

LEO ROBBINS .J'ACK BENDROR TTORNEY Nov. 10, 1959 L. ROBBINS ETAL BOOKROUNDING AND BACKING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 15, 1955 FIG.l2

SHP

MTR

I200 RPM INVENTORS. LEO ROBBINS ATTORNEY Byg sz United States PatentBOOK ROUNDlNG AND BACKING MACHINE Leo Robbins and Jack Bendror, NewYork, N.Y., as-

signors to Printing Industries Equipment Inc., New York, NY.

Application September 15, 1955, Serial No. 534,551

9 Claims. (Cl. 11-5) This invention relates to bookbinding apparatus,and more particularly to a machine for rounding and backing the pages orsignatures of a book preparatory to the same being bound in covers.

As is known, it is the accepted practice in bookbinding to unite thepages of the book at the rear thereof with sewing, after which the pagesare rounded or convexly curved at the back, and pages or signatures ofsaid back are then displaced to form a joint at either edge. It is oneof the objects of the present invention to provide an apparatus forrounding and backing a book as above described, and which apparatus willbe capable of operating on books of various thicknesses and sizes; whichwill uniformly round and back the signatures, and accurately andeffectively shape the joints of the backs of the pages or signatures inpreparation for the binding operations to be subsequently performed.

It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus of thischaracter which will grip the pages; feed them to the required positionfor rounding and backing; hold the bundle or book or pages securelywhile the'rounding ice Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of themechanism shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a somewhat diagrammatic view showing the operating elementsof the machine, and

Fig. 11 is a view of a slightly modified construction, and Fig. 12 is adiagram indicating the controls for the hydraulic cylinders Referring tothe drawings, and particularly to Fig. 2 thereof, 1 indicates a batch orbundle of pages or signatures constituting the body of an unbound book.These pages are' united at the rear and 2 by suitable sewing 3 of knowncharacter. The united pages, in the condition shown in Fig. 2, are inreadiness to be shaped by the apparatus constituting the presentinvention. In said apparatus, the pages-1 are brought to rest manuallyor by suitable feed means, back down, upon a 'slidably-mountedsupporting plate 4 (Fig. 3), until they are gripped between the roundingand feed rollers indicated respectively at 5 and 6, and moved downwardlythereby to be engaged and held between the gripping jaws indicatedrespectively at 7 and 8. The

jaw shown at 7 is a fixed jaw, while the jaw 8 is movable and backingoperations take place and then deliver the rounded and backed book fromthe apparatus.

a It is another object of the invention to provide in an apparatus ofthis kind, means by which the backing roller will have its arc ofmovement automatically controlled according to books of variousthicknesses, and 1 without adjustment. This is desirable because theradius of the curve on the back of the book varies according to thethickness of the book, and it is important that means be provided forautomatically adjusting the backing roller to books of differentthickness.

With these and other objects to behereinafter set forth in view, we havedevised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularlypointed out in the claims appended hereto.

a triangulated plate 12.

In the accompanying-drawings, wherein an illustrative embodiment of theinvention is disclosed.

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a book rounding and backingapparatus as constructed according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the book or batch of pages constitutingthe body of a book in readiness to be rounded and backed by theapparatus of this invention;

Fig. 3 diagrammatically shows parts of the apparatus receiving the bookto be rounded and backed;

Fig. 4 shows similar parts of the apparatus which have rounded andbacked pages; p I

v Fig. 5 shows the rounded and backed bundle of pages;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the apparatus, with certain partsthereof being shown in section and other parts broken away to discloseconstruction; I

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the apparatus, as viewed from one endthereof;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig.7, looking in the direction of the arrows; 1

toward and away from the fixed jaw, by means to be presently described,to thereby co-operate with the fixed jaw in gripping the book andthereafter releasing it after the backing operation has been performed.While the pages are thus supported by the jaws 7 and 8, a backing roller9, which is initially located centrally of the back of the pages whenthe pages are brought down by rounding and feed rollers 5 and 6 and isin the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4, is arcuately moved acrossthe backs of the pages in the book while applying pressure against them.This roller 9 is moved back and forth or reciprocated a few times acrossthe back of the book and this results in the production of the backedrear portion of the pages as indicated at 10 in Fig. 5. The rounded andbacked book is shown in Fig. 5, and after the rounding and backing takesplace as above described, the 'book is discharged from the machine andis then in readiness for the application of the covers.

InFig. 6 is shown the linkage and levers by which the backing roller 9is supported and is actuated; It will be understood that much of thismechanism is employed at both sides of the machine, that which islocated at one side only, being shown in this view. At each end, theshaft 11 of roller 9 is rotatively mounted at one end of One corner ofthe plate is pivoted at 13 to one end of a link shown at 14, which hasits opposite end pivoted at 15 to one end of a second triangulated plate16. A second end of the plate 16 is pivoted at 17 to one end of a lever18 which has its opposite end pivotally mounted at 19 on a pinv mountedin the side frame 20 of the machine. The third end or corner portion ofthe triangulated plate 16 ispivoted at 21 to one end of a lever 22having its opposite end pivoted at 23 in the side frame 20. The twolevers '18 and 22, mounted as above described, provide a parallelmovement for the triangulated plate 16.

Pivotally mounted on the pin 21 is one end of a link 24 which has itsopposite end pivotally attachedto a pin 25 projecting from one of theends or corners of the triangular plate 12. At one end of the pin 25 isa'bearing 26' operative in an elongated slot 27 formed in an arm 28having one end secured at the end of a cross-piece 29 provided with asimilar arm at its opposite end. The cross-piece 29 is provided with aclevis 30 in which the end of a piston rod 31 is pivoted. The piston rod31 ex- 3 other fixed elementin the machine frame. The piston rod '40 ofhydraulic cylinder 36is connected in'the clevis 41 provided on the crossbar '29. The two hydraulic cylinders, indicated respectively at 32 and36, are operative tocause an *arcu'ate'swinging movement of thebackingroller 9 across the back of the book through'the linkage thusfardescribed in conjunction'with'other elements to be now enumeratedand toposition roller 9 centrally withrespect'to'the bookprior tothe start oftheswinging operation. In the diagram of Fig. 12, the-cylinders '32 and36 are-combined and the'operation thereof is'congglled by thevalvemechanism generally indicated at The end of the arm 28 is pivotallyattached at 42 to oneend of a link 43'which has its opposite endpivotedon the-pin 44'mounted in a fixed part of the frame 20. Also mounted onthe pin 42 is one end'of a'link 45 which has itsopposite'end pivotallyattached at '46 to the movable jaw 8. Secured to the-pin 25 and woundpartially around it is one end of a chain 47 or similar-flexibleelement, and saidchain extends around pin-42 and also around apin4'8extendingfrom a fixed part of the machine. The second end of the chain,and which is partly shown in dottedlines in Fig. 6, is connected to-oneend'ofa turn: buckle 49, which has its opposite end terminating in ablock 50 that is pivotally attached at 51 to an arm 52, having one endpivotally secured at 53 to a bracket 54 secured to and extending fromthe fixed jaw 7. The second end of the arm 52 is pivotally connected at55'to one endof an arm 56 projecting radially from and securedeccentrically on shaft 57. A pinion 58 is secured on the shaft and saidpinion is inmesh with a rack 59 on'the piston rod of a hydrauliccylinder 60, having its lower end pivotally connected at 61 to a fixedcross'mernber 62 of the machine frame. Through thearrangement described,the'arm 56, having'a crank movement will tend to create the propertightening of chain 47 during movement of the backing roller 9 andslacken the chain upon completion of thebacking operation.

The'chain connected in the manner described, w'illautomaticallytake careof the change of radius of movement of the backing roller in accordancewith the various thicknesses of books.

The chain 47 accordingly tends to maintain thebackin'g'roller 9 at theproper position for engagement with books of various thicknesses andadjustment for the wear of the chain is had by means of a handwheel 63rotatively mounted in one end of the ma chineframe. The handwheel is"mounted on a threaded shaft 64, 'threadable into the 'block 65, whichembraces the shaft 57. A sprocket 63a is secured on shaft 64 an'd'thissprocket is connected bya chain, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6 onanother shaft adjacent to the opposite side of the-machine, for securinguniform adjusting movement of shaft'57 throughout'its length. I

The'movable jaw8 is-slidable toward and awayfrom the fixed jaw 7 byhydraulic meansincluding the cylinder shown at 66 controlled by thevalve mechanism generally indicated at V1-in Fig. l2. Carried by, andsli-dably mountedon and in relation to-the movable jaw8, is the plate 4which initially supports the book. 'I'he'plate'is moved back and forthat the required times by hydraulic means of cylinder 67 controlledby'thevalve mechanism generally indicated at V2.

'The rollers and 6 are supported in a pivoted frame, generally indicatedat'70, and which includes the side members 71 and 72, (Fig.8) connectedby several cross members indicated at 73. The frame is pivotally mountedat one end in the lugs 74and it has a limited upward and downward swingthat is'controlledbythe stopmenibers designated respectivelyat76 and'77. Stop member 77 consists 'of'an'adjustable, threaded and headed stem78 vertically adjustable through the bracket 76. Onthe lower endof thethreaded stem '78'is provided a bevel gear 79 in mesh with a similarbevel "gear" SD'SQCDIt d Q the adjustment shaft 81. A hand wheel 82secured on theadjustment shaft 81 permits of'manual rotation of saidshaft so that stop member 77 can be thus raised or lowered accordinglyto position the head on said stop at the location desired to limit theupward swing of frame 70. The frame 70 is provided with a yoke 84 whichstraddles the stem 78 of stop 77 and impinges against the head thereonwhen the frame is swung upwardly to the limit of sucli'rnovern'ent asdetermined bythe headon stop 77. The frame 70 is raised and lowered by ahydraulic cylinder indicated at '85'controlled by the valve mechanismgenerally indicated at V2 and which has its piston rod connected to theyoke 84, as clearly seen in Fig. 6.

By limiting the'movement Oftheframe 70, provision is made for varioussizes of joints on the book. By setting the position of the head 77 at apoint which will permit the frame 70 to rise to a predetermined heighton the held book, the'rollers will'have a certain amount of travel andaccordingly'the book will'be moved downwardly to a certain givenpositionwith respect to the jaws 7 and 8, thusallowing a certain amount ofthebook to be displacedbythebackingroller to create'a joint of a certainsize. By positioning the head '77 so that the frame 70 will rise higher,therollers 5 and'6 will grip the book at a 'higher'point and will, uponrotation, advance thebook to a lower position with respect to the jaws 7and 8 thus causing -a greater amount of the back portion of the book toproject below the jaws'and be displaced by the backing roller, andresult in a large size of joint.

Roller 5 is rotatively mounted in bearingson one of the cross members 73of the frame 70, one of said bearings being shown at 86,'s0 that 'saidroller is raised up and down in company with frame 70 and is rotated bymeans to be described. Roller 6-is-also carried by the frame 70 and isrotative in bearings 87 and 87a (Fig. 8), supportedby amovable cross bar88. The cross bar has its ends mounted for slidable' movement in slots89 provided in theside members Hand 72 of'frame 70. Cross bar 88,carrying the roller 6 is moved toward and away from the book bythe'hydraulic cylinders indicated at'91 and 90 controlled'by the valvemechanism generally indicated at V3.

'The function of cylinders 91 and cylinders 90 may be explained asfollows: Both cylinders 91 are'single-acting. That is to say,they arecapable of moving the rounding and feed roller"6 in'the forwarddirection-only, the feed roller6 being retracted byhydraulic cylindersshown'at 90. The rod'ends of cylinders 90 and 91 are connected to thecross bar 88, which bar carries the roller 6, but the'rear'ends ofcylinders 90 and 91 are mounted on the jaw Bend are stationarywhile'roller 6 ismoving forwardiy. Whenthe movable jaw 8 movesforwardly, it carries with it the rear ends of the cylinders 90 and 91.Upon completion of the cycle, the roller 6 will retract by means of thecylinders 90, which are double acting,'and will-retract only as far asthe movable jaw 8 will permit.

. The setting of the extent of retraction to be done by jaw 8 isaccomplished by electrical and hydraulic means and iscontrolled by meansof theswitch 63 (Fig. 7). Thus, though the'movement of roller 6 isindependent of the movement of the jaw 8, it is possible to synchronizetheir relative positions.

In the bearing housing '87 for the roller 6 is'agear-109 (Fig. 8) on theendof the roller shaft 6a, and said-gear 109 meshes with a worm 92 onone end of a shaft 93 provided at-its opposite end with a pinion 94 inmesh with a rack-95 which is moved transversely of the machinebymeans-of a hydraulic cylinder 96 controlled by the valve, mechanism V2andhavingits piston rod 97 connected to'oneen'dtof the rack-95as'clearly'shown in 'Fig. 7. Similarly, the bearing housing 86 forroller-"Scontains=a gear similartogear 109, on the end of the'shaft5a-of-rdller5,"which gear 'is in mesh with a worm gear 98 on shaft 99.At its opposite end, shaft 99 is provided when with a pinion 100i]: meshwith the rack 95. Shafts 93 rollers 5 and 6 in opposite directions andin a manner to' cause the rollers to round the book and move it down tothe required extend for engagement by the backing roller 9 when theroller is moved across the back of the book.

In Fig. 9 is shown means for providing for the adjustment of therelative size of the joints of the books according to the thickness ofvarious books. It will therein be noted that at each side of the frame70 is provided a cam finger 125 having an inclined upper edge 126 andmoving between a pin or roller 127 extending laterally from the sides ofthe frame 70 and the pin or roller 127a extending from the fixed frame.The fingers 125 are pivotally supported by the ends of the bar 88 andcontrol the extent of descent of the book between the jaws 7 and 8 tothe point of backing. This is determined by the thickness of the cam 125at the point of contact with the rollers 127 and 127a according to theextent to which the roller 6 is moved toward roller 5 and this isgoverned by the thickness of the book to be backed.

From the foregoing the operation of the described apparatus will bereadily understood.

A book to be rounded and backed is inserted, manually or by feedmechanism, between the rollers 5 and 6 with its back brought to restupon the supporting plate 4 substantially as shown in Fig. 3. Themachine is set in operation by depression upon the, control pedal shownat 120 in Fig 1, whereupon roller 6 will be moved toward roller 5 togrip the book between them, and the 'plate 4 is retracted and broughtout from under the back of the book now supported between the tworollers 5 and 6. As the rollers 5 and 6 are now rotated by the mechanismpreviously described, they will round the book and at the same time moveit downwardly between them and between the jaws 7 and 8, with jaw 8being moved toward jaw 7 to cause the book to be now engaged and heldbetween the two jaws 7 and 8 as shown in Fig. 4, and with a sufiicientportion of the rear part of the book projecting below the jaws to enablesuch projecting portion to be backed by the roller 9. At the time thatthe book is brought down to its backing position, the backing roller 9is in its central or midway position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 4,and when the book has its rear end brought down into contact with theroller 9, the roller is then brought back and forth several timesthrough an arc across the back of the book, causing the same to assumethe desired rounded and backed condition substantially as shown in Fig.5. The jaws 7 and 8 now separate, releasing the book, which thereuponfalls down through a guide chute consisting of a curved plate 111located below the jaws and resiliently mounted by means of the spring112 and pivoted fingers 113 (Fig. 10)

The plate 111 cooperates with a fixed guide plate 110 to guide the bookdown to a position where it is received upon co-operating conveyor belts114 and 115 which travel transversely of the machine and carry therounded and backed book out of one side of the machine. The conveyorbelts travel over rollers driven by a motor 118 and the bevel gearing116 and 117.

In Fig. 11 is shown a modified construction, wherein the means formoving the backing roller 9 is simplified. In this embodiment, thetriangular plate 16 has one of its ends pivoted at 130 to a link 131which has its opposite end pivoted at 132 to one corner of the plate 12.The opposite corner of plate 12 is pivotally connected at 133 to one endof a link 134 which has its opposite end connected to the pivot 21.Connected between the pivots 132 and 133 to the plate 12, at the point135, is one end of a short link 136 which has its opposite end pivotedat 137 to one end of a link 138 which is pivoted at 139 to a fixed ofthe machine. Also secured on piv'ot 139 is arm 140 connected to thepiston rod 141- of a hydraulic cylinder 142. With this arrangement asingle hydraulic double-acting cylinder, namely, that shown at 142, isused to cause the backing roller to center and be moved through itsdesired are by oscillations of the triangular plate 16 during thebacking operation, and the mechanism is in other respects somewhatsimplified.

Having described an embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that thesame is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover allstructures coming within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What we claim is:

1. In an apparatus for backing the backs of books, a

pair of rounding and feed rollers between which a book is positioned,means for moving at least one of the rollers toward the other roller tocause the book to be engaged between'the rollers, means for rotating therollers in opposite directions to cause the book held be-' tween them tobe rounded as the book is moved downwardly to position between the jawsand a backing roller, a backing roller located below the feed androunding rollers and against which the book is brought upon its downwardmovement by the rounding and-feed rollers, means for maintaining thebacking roller in position to act as a stop to contact with the back ofthe book as the 2. In an apparatus of the character described, a pivotedframe carrying a pair of rounding and feed rollers, means for rotatingthe rollers in opposite directions, means for raising and lowering theframe, a pair of jaws located below the frame, means for moving one jawin a direction toward the other jaw to thereby cause a book to beengaged between and held by the jaws, a sliding supporting plate forpositioning below the book to support the same, said plate beinginterposed between the rollers and the jaws and acting to support a bookbefore the book is engaged between the rounding and feed rollers, abacking roller positioned below the jaws, means for swinging said rollerthrough an arc while the same is positioned in contact with the backportion of a book that is held between the jaws and means forautomatically varying the radius of the arc of movement of the backingroller according to the thickness of the book being backed.

3. In an apparatus for rounding and backing books, a slidable platesupport for positioning below a book to be rounded and backed, rotatablemeans for engaging the opposite sides of the book and moving the samewhen the plate is removed from below the support, a backing rolleragainst which the book is so moved by descending movement, jaws forengaging the lowered book, and means for swingably reciprocating theroller across the back of the book to back the same as the book is heldby its jaws, said one of said jaws being moved toward and away from theother jaw.

4. In an apparatus for rounding and backing books, a slidable plateconstituting a book support, said plate being located for positioningbelow a book and against which the back of the book is rested and whichsupports the book a pair of rounding and feed rollers above the supportand between which a book is engaged, one of said rollers being movedtoward and away from the other, a backing roller below the supporttoward and against which the book is moved by the rounding and feedrollers on withdrawal of the support, a pair of jaws below the supportand between which the book is gripped and held with a rear portionextending beyond and below the jaws, at least one jaw .being movablerelatively to the other, means for reciprocating the backing rollerthrough an arc, across: the hack of thebook held; by, said. jpvs tothereby roundthe bacleofl thflzbDOk and vary the. radius oi. the; arc ofmovement of. the backing; rollen according to thethickness. ofthe-bookiheing hackedt 5; In.- an apparatus for: rounding andbackingbooks; a pair ofi rotatablerounding; and'efeed rollersbetweenrwhich a.hook. is:v positioned,, means, for. moving at. least one; of. therollerstowardv theother. roller to-cause the booktobe. engaged betweenthev rollers, means for rotatingthe rollersinoppositedirections-..to.:cause. the. book: held between them; to be. moved.downwardly a backing; roller located; below the rounding; and feedrollers and normally. cenatrally positioned with respect to thedescending book and against which the? hook is. brought upon itsdownward movement by the rounding; and feed rollers, means forholdingthe-backing rollen in contact: with;v the:back of the. hookmeans: forautomatically positioning, the backing. roller at" various'distancesfrorm the jawsto contactwiththe :backs of.difierently-sized-booksg and:means fon swing; ing the backing.roller-through an. arc. across the. back. of. the. book while it is.heldin: contact therewith torthereby back therear of the said hook.

6.1m an apparatus of. the characterv described a pair of spaced.elements. for gripping a book. to be: rounded. and backed, means-formovingonlyonexofthe. elements. toward or away from the. other. to-causethe. hook to beeither gripped; or released thereby,, a. backing;rollecpositinned adjacent toltheback of thebook while thebookis; held,between the: gripping. elements, means for causing; the roller to. be.located centrally of. the. book when: the book is held by the: elementsin abacking positiontoen? ableisaid roller to-act as a.stopagainst-.theboolc when the book is moved to backing position;means-for. then swing? ing the. roller. back: and forth. through anarc.across the rear. ofthe: boolc to hack. the same,, and means for: auto?matically. varying the: radiusoi. the arc through=whichrthe1hackingroll'er. is moved.

7:. In an: apparatus as. provided ton in claim: 6,.whereina; thespacedgripping elements. are jaws; whereby theroller movingmcanssisza linkageandincludes hydraulics means} 40? 2,010,810.

ing saidibook. on edgewithitsback disposed downwardly: and restingonrand. supported by the plate, a pivoted: frame carrying a.pairofroundingandfeedrollers betweenzwhicha book. is. positioned whileheldon the plate, means for: rotating; both. rollers,tmeans,for moving oneof the rollers toward. and. away from the second roller, meansrforv retractingt the:supporting plate from below the rounding: and feedrollers.to thereby allow the book to be sup ported. and. moved downwardly by therollers, a pair of' jaws. located below the rounding and feed rollers.and between whichtthebookisgripped and held with its back extendingbelow said jaws, means for moving one of the jaws toward and away. fromthe other jaw, a-backingroller located below the rear of the book soheld in contact therewith,v means. for adjustably positioning thebacking: roller to maintain the same in contact with. the rear of tl1e.book.so held hydraulic meansand co-operating linkage interposedbetween. said hydraulic means and thebackingroller for-causing the.backing roller to be moved througl'ran arc across the-back of the bookwhile main- 39, tained in: contact. therewith to thereby back the: sameReferences Cited' in the'fil'e of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS"474,819 Crawley May 17, 1892'. 1,489,896 Murray Apr. 8,, 1924 1,959,656.Cahen May 22', 19-34 Bredenberg; Aug, 13, 1935.

